Gravestone Transcription

[Mitch in Notts]

Currently transcribing photos I took from a churchyard (Wessington, Derbyshire). Having done nearly 300 most have been easy as its rural and most people are local but I'm stumped. I've been adding district of death from the death indexes and place or district of birth from the birth indexes or census along with marriage where couples shown but I'm completely stumped by this stone:

a dear Husband & Dad
STOJAN KEREZ
- STEFAN - (In capitals but much smaller than the line above)
Died 12th Sep 1983
aged 60 years.


Firstly is his surname 'Stojan Kerez' or 'Kerez'? Is Stojan his first name and he was simply known as Stefan? I can find no death entry in GRO. There are no births under the surname STOJAN in the GRO and the most recent under KEREZ was in 1925 which wouldn't explain any potential children/marriage for the above stone........ I can understand the lack of birth or marriage if say he was an immigrant but not the lack of a death entry...... Help......

Thanks Mitch

[arthurk]

Unless the inscription has something like "Here lies...", a name on a gravestone is no evidence for the person being buried there. For example, sometimes names were added of people who had emigrated years previously, and died and were buried in another country.

On the other hand, sometimes when people die at a distance their ashes are taken to be interred elsewhere. If so, there may well be clues in the church's burial register - and this would also usually record the person's last residence.

[peanut]

Hi
Found
Stojan Kerkes
Death Sep. 1983
Derby 6 857
Born 31st May 1923

Peanut

[Mitch in Notts]

Thank you Peanut wonderful. Name variants hadn't picked that up on findmypast & there are other KERKES though the surname looks to have been KERKEZ! Mitch.

[arthurk]

It's actually KERKEZ - and if you look at FreeBMD for that spelling from say 1940 onwards you'll find a few of them in the right area.

[Mitch in Notts]

Yes Arthur I now know. I've also realised I'm doing too much transcribing and the stone (embarrassingly) does say KERKEZ - though findmypast didn't pick that up as a variant of KEREZ. Looks like there were a couple of brothers in the village with that name though only one stone - Mr KERKEZ is the 300th photoed stone I've done for Wessington and only 20 more to go and then a trip back to photo the blurred ones(7) and about 20 more stones in the new section and it's fully documented ..... post lockdown of course.....

Edit: Naturalisation document Mr KERKEZ was Yugoslavian.

[peanut]

Hi Mitch

Well done keep up the good work, will we be able to view the transcripts you are doing

Peanut

[Mitch in Notts]

Hi Peanut,

Thank you yes. I have been adding them to the findagrave site for the last 3 years, have made a bit more progress last couple of days as off work unwell. I intend to make an index, go back and re-photo some (seem to have condensation in the camera somehow) and make a plan and then possibly submit index/plan online, perhaps to genuki, with a link to the findagrave page.


https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/.../christ-church

Mitch